BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 526
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 19, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 526 (Dickinson) - As Amended: January 4, 2012
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Board of State and Community Corrections
(BSCC) to identify and consolidate gang intervention and
delinquency prevention programs and grants and focus funding on
evidenced-based practices. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires BSCC to identify similar gang intervention and
prevention grants with the goal of consolidating grants and
programs into a more unified grant application process.
2)Requires BSCC to develop incentives for local governments to
develop regional partnerships to better deliver services and
maximize the use of state funds at the local level.
3)Requires BSCC to develop a plan, by July 1, 2013, to ensure
that within three years at least 85% of state gang
intervention and prevention funding is used in evidence-based
programs.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor administrative costs for programmatic efforts consistent
with the explicit statutory mission of the BSCC.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill implements recommendations of the
author's Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review
(AAR) Committee to consolidate gang intervention programs and
grants, with more reliance on evidenced-based programs and
practices.
AB 526
Page 2
According to the author, "The AAR Committee and the Select
Committee on Delinquency Prevention and Youth Development have
found that the State spends in excess of $1 billion annually
on youth crime prevention and Juvenile Justice funding, with
about 75% of that money coming from state coffers. Despite
these expenditures, the state has little ability to determine
which programs have been the most effective at preventing
youth crime and lowering recidivism rates among juvenile
offenders. Evidenced based programs, however, have been
independently evaluated and proven to be effective in studies
comparing program participants to a control group, and then
replicated by others with similar successful outcomes. By
focusing gang prevention/intervention funding on such
programs, per AB 526 provisions, the state is more likely to
get a better return on its investment.
"Additionally, 17 different state agencies allocate funding to
programs addressing juvenile justice, delinquency and youth
development, but with little coordination and collaboration
among them. The grant process is often duplicated many times
over for applicants, and the many funding silos prevent
achieving program synergies among grant recipients. AB 526
will initiate consolidating the grant process, beginning with
the BSCC, thereby reducing local frustration in having to file
multiple grant applications for program with similar
objectives, and utilize program dollars more efficiently and
effectively."
2)The bill appears consistent with the current Office of Gang
and Youth Violence Prevention (OGYVP) statutory charge to :
a) Develop recommendations to improve delinquency and gang
prevention activity.
b) Identify, promote, and provide technical assistance
relating to evidence-based programs.
c) Develop comprehensive and orderly procedures to ensure
grant applications are processed fairly and efficiently.
d) Provide technical assistance to local governments and
other public and private agencies regarding delinquency
prevention.
e) Identify and evaluate state, local, and federal gang and
youth violence prevention programs and strategies, along
with funding for those efforts.
AB 526
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3)The BSCC: a reconfigured Correctional Standards Agency (CSA)
that will include OGYVP. Effective July 1, 2012, SB 92 (Budget
Act) Statutes of 2011, eliminates the CSA, and assigns its
former duties, along with various criminal justice components
of CA Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) to the newly
created 12-member BSCC. Also included in the reconfiguration
is the OGYVP, which is currently under the administration of
the Governor's Office.
In addition to the CSA's existing responsibilities for
monitoring local facilities and distributing criminal justice
resources, the BSCC's mission will be to provide leadership,
coordination, and research expertise in the state and local
corrections system, particularly regarding correctional
realignment. The mission of the BSCC is designed to align
fiscal policy and correctional practices to promote a
statewide criminal justice strategy through cost-effective,
evidence-based strategies. The BSCC will act as the
supervisory board of the state planning agency pursuant to
specific federal acts and review and approve the comprehensive
state plan for the improvement of criminal justice activities
throughout the state.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081